Germany eased into the Confederations Cup final following a comfortable 4-1 victory over Mexico in Sochi.

Australia 2

Joachim Low's much-changed Germany opened their Confederations Cup campaign with a 3-2 victory over Australia in Sochi.

Germany coach Joachim Low felt the 7-0 thrashing of minnows San Marino was a good test for his young squad before they head off to the Confederations Cup in Russia.

Angel Di Maria produced two sublime finishes as Paris St Germain thrashed Barcelona 4-0 at the Parc des Princes, leaving the LaLiga giants facing elimination in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Wolfsburg 2 Real Madrid 0

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini wants to sign Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler, although the German side want £25m for the 21-year-old, according to the Daily Star.

Jose Mourinho is uncertain when he will be able to select Diego Costa for all of Chelsea’s big games as he manages a hamstring problem.

Germany 2 Argentina 4

Nico Rosberg has expressed his shock after a driving event he was involved in left two people in hospital following an accident at the German football team’s training camp in northern Italy.

Schalke 1 Real Madrid 6

Arsenal switched tack from youth to experience on deadline day, dropping their interest in young German winger Julian Draxler and turning to veteran Swedish midfielder Kim Kallstrom.

Norwich manager Chris Hughton will investigate reports want-away midfielder Wes Hoolahan made derogatory remarks about the Canaries ahead of a media conference yesterday afternoon.

Arsenal remain hopeful of signing Schalke 04 star Julian Draxler before the January transfer window closes tomorrow night.

Chelsea 3 FC Schalke 04 0

Schalke 0 Chelsea 3

Skipper Robbie Keane was missing as the Republic of Ireland attempted to upset the odds by denying Germany World Cup qualification in Cologne.

A controversial Mario Balotelli penalty earned AC Milan a 1-1 draw against Ajax.

The mood in the Sweden camp is serious ahead of tonight’s crucial clash with Kazakhstan, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic adding his voices to those demanding focus on the tie in Astana rather than speculating about likely play-off opponents.

Germany 3 Austria 0

Ireland’s Group C rivals Germany eased past lowly Kazakhstan 3-0 last night without deploying any strikers for the first time in a competitive match under coach Joachim Loew as they stayed top of the group.

Schalke’s Julian Draxler and Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen are the only uncapped players in Germany coach Joachim Loew’s provisional squad selection for Euro 2012 that has been unveiled today.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson made eight changes for this Champions League semi-final against Schalke at Old Trafford tonight.

Alex Ferguson has included one major surprise in his Manchester United starting line-up for tonight’s Champions League semi-final with Schalke with Brazilian full-back Fabio selected to fill the right-back slot.

SCHALKE will face Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final after beating Inter Milan for the second time in eight days last night.

A MATCH which began with Inter Milan scoring one of the great Champions League goals ended with their Champions League ambitions all but dead as Schalke twice came from behind in the San Siro to claim a sensational advantage in last night’s quarter-final.

JEFFERSON FARFAN struck twice as Schalke fought back from an early deficit to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Valencia last night.